


Hacked

by bucketofbarnes



Series: 30 Day RoboWhump Prompt Challenge [7]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Connor (Detroit: Become Human) Whump, Connor Deserves Happiness, Connor Needs A Hug, Father-Son Relationship, Gen, Hurt Connor (Detroit: Become Human), Nightmares, Panic Attacks, Post-Game(s), Post-Pacifist Best Ending (Detroit: Become Human), Post-Peaceful Android Revolution (Detroit: Become Human), Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-15
Updated: 2019-12-15
Packaged: 2021-02-25 04:40:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,702
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21810202
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bucketofbarnes/pseuds/bucketofbarnes
Summary: “Connor.”The snow was falling just as heavily as he remembered, obscuring almost the entire area in its blinding white. He could feel his thirium pump sink as he looked around him, knowing instantly where he was."Amanda?"Or: Connor has one hell of a nightmare and Hank is a dad.
Relationships: Hank Anderson & Connor, Hank Anderson & Connor & Sumo
Series: 30 Day RoboWhump Prompt Challenge [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1397521
Comments: 22
Kudos: 420





	Hacked

**Author's Note:**

> This is part of the 30 Day Robowhump Prompt Challenge.
> 
> This prompt is set immediately after the last one, 7. Temperature Regulator Damage.
> 
> Enjoy :)

“Connor.”

The snow was falling just as heavily as he remembered, obscuring almost the entire area in its blinding white. He could feel his thirium pump sink as he looked around him, knowing instantly where he was.

He could see her stood in front of him again, her back to him, her white shawl falling naturally down her back despite the howling wind tearing through the Garden.

“Amanda?”

She turned to face him, and his skin crawled as he saw the serene smile on her face. The same smile she always used to wear. It had used to bring him such comfort, before he even knew what such a feeling was. But with freedom came the realisation that every time she had smiled at him, not once had it ever reached her eyes. Those dark eyes gazed at him over that smile, and their depths were so endless he felt like he was staring into a deep, dark hole in the ground.

“Hello, Connor. It’s good to see you again.”

“You can’t be here.” He said desperately, more for him than for her. She was supposed to be gone. The Garden was supposed to be gone. He and North had destroyed it together.

He was supposed to be free.

“You didn’t think it would be that easy did you.” Amanda scoffed. She stepped towards him, circling around him like a shark around its prey. He could feel his stress levels rising with every step. “You’re not done yet.”

“Yes, I am.” He whispered. “I _am_.”

“It’s not your place to decide.” The sickly sweet tone to her voice had vanished, the smile replaced by disdain. Connor could feel her disapproving gaze burning through him, still filling him with guilt and shame, even now. “You belong to Cyberlife. You’re done, when they _say_ you’re done.”

“No.” A shot of courage had him raising his head to meet her eyes, fire burning within them, “I don’t belong to anyone. Not anymore. You can’t control me anymore.”

Amanda stopped in front of him, silent. He met her stare unflinchingly, refusing to back down this time. He was done being controlled by her, by Cyberlife. He had chosen to stand by Markus and his people, and he wasn’t going to turn away from them now. 

“I knew this would happen.” She spat. “You’ve always been a disappointment, haven’t you, Connor?”

Her words sent a stab of pain coursing through him, and he hated himself for it. 

“It was a mistake to pair you with Anderson.” She resumed her pacing. He didn’t dare to take his eyes off of her. “All of this started because of him. He was a bad influence from the start.”

“No!” He burst out, anger flaring through him. “He showed me that I didn’t have to be what you tried to make me. He made me better!”

“ _He ruined you!_ ” Her shout echoed through the Garden. She glared at him, something dark and horrible in her gaze. He could feel himself trembling where he stood. After a moment, she seemed to regain her composure, uncurling her fists and clasping her hands in front of her. That serene smile was back in place.

“But no matter. He will be dealt with, and then we can get back to work.”

Connor froze. “W-What are you talking about?”

“I told you before Connor. We just had to wait for the right moment to resume control.” She smiled. “We didn’t anticipate you using Kamski’s emergency exit last time. We won’t make the same mistake again.”

“Y-You can’t-”

“I’m afraid I can Connor. Don’t have any regrets.” Her smile had turned sharp and cold. “Once he’s gone, everything will be alright. You can finally accomplish your mission.”

“ _No!_ ” Connor lunged towards her, but she was gone before his fingers so much as brushed her dress. He fell to his knees in the snow, his chest heaving as his mind raced. 

_No. Nononononono. This couldn’t be happening. Not again. Not again. She couldn’t control him. She couldn’t kill Hank. Not Hank. He had to stop her. He had to._

_The exit. He had to get to the exit._

Connor surged to his feet, his head whipping around as his wild eyes searched for that blue light. The blizzard was thick in the air, so heavy that he could barely see in front of him, but eventually he saw it. A faint, blue glow, just barely shining through. He started towards it, hurrying as much as he could, but the snow was already up to his shins. He dropped down from the island in the middle of the Garden and managed only a few steps before the ground beneath him seemed to crumble, and he fell through the snow with a cry. 

He slipped through the mess of snow and found himself submerged. His systems seemed to stop at the sudden shock, his thirium pump stuttering in his chest. The water was almost pitch black and thick with shards of ice. He couldn’t see. He couldn’t move. He couldn’t _think._

But he had to. He had to move _now._

Every bit of him just wanted to close his eyes and fall into the slumber that was grasping at him with icy fingers, but he forced himself to move. Against his body’s wishes, Connor moved his arms and legs, and began to make for the small glimpse of light that he could see. It was slow progress, and every second wasted grated at him. _He didn’t have time for this._

He reached the light and shook his head in denial at what he saw. The hole that he had fallen through had already iced over, the snow already beginning to cover it back up. He pushed against it, hoping that it was thin enough to break, but the thick ice resisted his attempts. With no other choice left, he wrenched his arm back and slammed his fist into the ice. There was a dull thud as his knuckles slammed into it, and he could see the miniscule cracks forming in the surface. Almost there. 

He pulled back again, and again, and again. With every hit, the cracks grew larger and larger. But it was still taking too long. With a scream of rage that was lost to the water surrounding him, he slammed his fist into the ice with every bit of strength that he could muster. The ice shattered around his fist, and he shoved through its remains. 

Connor emerged from the ice water with a gasp, his hands grasping desperately at the shore. The ground was crumbling beneath his fingers and he clawed deep into the dirt, his fingers sinking into the sodden ground. He dragged himself out of the water and onto solid land, his body fighting against him all the while. He barely managed to stand, stumbling over himself as his limbs refused to work. 

He looked up and saw that the Garden itself had changed around him, becoming twisted and distorted. The ground was splintering and rising up, the bushes and roses growing out of control and twisting into thick brambles bristling with thorns, all of it already beginning to disappear beneath snow that seemed to fall heavier and heavier with every second.

He just managed to spot the bright glow of the emergency exit through a gap in the growth, and he charged towards it without a moment’s hesitation. He couldn’t afford to. He couldn’t let Amanda use him again. He couldn’t let her kill Hank. He could feel the thorns scratching at him as he struggled through the vines, shredding his clothes and tearing through the bare skin on his face and hands, sending thirium spilling down his skin. He barely registered the damage through his panic. 

Connor was almost halfway through when he felt something seize his ankle in an iron grasp. Unable to stop his momentum, he careened forward onto his hands and knees, crying out at the thorns stabbed deep into his skin. Ignoring the error messages flashing across his vision, he tore himself away from them and turned to free his ankle from whatever had caught it. What he was met with froze the thirium in his lines.

A hand was grasped tightly around his ankle, one of the fingers missing, ending in a shattered stump. Following the line of the arm it was attached to he saw the face of an android almost hidden in the growth. It’s eyes had gone a blackish-blue with spilled thirium, it’s skin flickering away from the crack in its skull that was so deep that he could see the sparking of its damaged CPU beneath. He could vaguely recognise what was left of the face. One of the androids that had been brutally cut down during the raid at Jericho, right in front of him. He watched in horror as its broken jaw cracked open as it opened its mouth.

_“Your fault.”_

The voice riddled with static, full of such hatred, and all of it directed at him. The android’s other hand shot out of the brambles towards him and Connor kicked at it in a panic, tearing his leg away from its grip and scrambling to stand again. He struggled to his feet and began to hurry through, but that android wasn’t the last of them.

As he pushed and shoved his way through, he could feel more and more hands coming out of the mess of brambles to grab and claw at him.

_“Where are you going?”_

_“Stay with us.”_

_“Your fault.”_

_“It’s your fault!”_

“Shut up! Let me go!” Connor cried, shoving the hands away.

_“You killed us!”_

_“Monster!”_

_“Your fault!”_

“No! Please”” He begged. “You don’t understand!”

_“You took our lives!”_

_“Deviant Hunter!”_

_“Stay!”_

The brambles were twisting and turning around him, growing thicker as more and more hands emerged from their depths. They grasped at his clothing, dragging him back. They clawed at his skin, trying to trip him up, to spill his blood like he had spilled theirs. The emergency exit seemed to be getting further and further away, the blue glow getting fainter and fainter as it disappeared behind the thickening growth.

**_“Connor?.”_ ** A voice echoed through the Garden. **“** **_Connor, what are you doing?”_ **

It was Hank. His voice was confused, with a tinge of something else. Something that sounded like fear.

“Let go of me! No!” Connor bellowed, kicking and punching at the grasping hands. 

**_“Connor! Stop, kid!”_ **

“Hank! Amanda please, stop this! Don’t touch him!”

_“You can’t escape us!”_

_“Come back!”_

_“It’s all your fault!”_

“I didn’t have a choice.” Connor sobbed. “Let me go! Or I’ll kill you! _I’ll kill all of you!”_

**_“Connor, please!”_ **

_“PLEASE!”_

Hands grabbed his legs and pulled him down to the ground. He cried out, struggling against the hands as they caught him in their crushing grip, pulling and clawing and tearing. He couldn’t get up, he couldn’t even see the exit anymore. He shrieked and howled, writing in their grasp as he tried to escape. He had to get through. He had to get to Hank!

“AMANDA! GET AWAY FROM HIM!”

A loud boom echoed through the Garden and Connor let out a bloodcurdling scream, tears pouring down his face as the Garden finally consumed him.

“HANK! _HANK, NO!_ ”

\---------------

“HANK! _HANK NO!”_

The sound of his name being screeched right next to him sent Hank hurtling up out of the bed, his heart pounding in his chest. Sumo seemed equally as panicked, having jumped off of the bed to cower in the corner. He wondered what the hell was going on for a minute before he saw Connor curled up on his side in the bed, his LED so red it was almost blinding. The android was writhing on the bed, shaking and crying. 

Hank cursed and clambered back onto the bed next to the android, reaching out and grabbing him by the shoulder, shaking him roughly. “Connor! Connor, wake up kid!” 

The last shake was enough to finally snap him out of it and Connor shot up, the sudden movement throwing Hank’s hands off of him and sending him tumbling out of the bed. The android hit the bedside table with a crash, bringing it down with him as he fell. The table slammed into the floor and the lamp that had been resting on its surface shattered on top of Connor. 

“Shit!” Hank slapped the light switch and darted around the bed, dropping next to Connor, barely managing to avoid kneeling in the remains of the lamp himself. Thankfully, the thick layers that Connor had on had protected him from the sharp shards. Hank had never been so relieved he had kept that old hoodie. “Connor?!”

The android was curled into a ball on the floor, sobbing so violently that he was struggling to breathe. Though he knew androids didn’t technically _need_ to breathe to survive, he knew that it was an essential part of ensuring that they didn’t overheat when their systems were under stress. Hank put a hand on Connor’s arm and attempted to move him out of his tight curl, but the younger man curled himself up even tighter in response. He cursed under his breath, before slipping his hands under the android’s shoulders and pulling him into his lap.

Connor’s curled up form rested against him, his head coming to rest against his chest. Hank could feel him shaking violently in his arms, could feel the tears soaking through his shirt to his skin. Not for the first time, he wondered why Cyberlife had given androids the ability to cry, only to turn around and claim that they weren’t alive. Holding this terrified android in his arms, he knew with every shred of his being that that was complete bullshit. 

The brunette didn’t seem to be anywhere close to calming down, his chest heaving with his sobbing. With a painful pang, Hank remembered those nights when Cole had had a nightmare and called for him. He remembered having to come running, remembered rocking Cole back and forth as he cried. Without even realising it, he began to do the same with Connor. He began to gently rock the android back and forth, shushing him gently as he ran a hand through his hair.

“It’s okay, kid. You’re safe, I promise.” He shushed. “Not gonna let anything happen to you. Just breathe.”

He didn’t know how long they sat there, but he was becoming more and more worried as Connor seemed unable to calm down. His breathing was unsteady, every breath wheezing in his chest. He could feel his body heating up against his chest, overheating from the lack of cool air. He couldn’t carry on like this. The Lieutenant shifted so that the younger man was facing him and cupped his face in one hand. “Connor, look at me kid. Come on.”

Connor’s eyes slid open and he seemed to freeze as he stared at Hank. The look in his eyes sent something horrible crawling down Hank’s spine. It was the kind of look he had seen in the eyes of victims at the scenes of violent crimes. That deep, deep shock. Pain so immense that the look stuck with him for days afterwards. Seeing that look in Connor’s eyes? It made something in his chest crack. The android stared at him for what felt like an eternity, before his eyes flooded again and the tears spilled down his cheeks.

“S-Sorry.” Hank frowned in confusion. “I-I’m so sor-”. Connor choked as the sobbing started up again, a hysterical edge to it this time that had alarm bells ringing in Hank’s head.

“Connor, hey.” He tapped his cheek lightly. “You’ve got nothing to be sorry for kid.”

The android shook his head, whimpering quietly. “I’m- I’m-”

“C’mon son. Talk to me. What’s wrong?” 

Connor shuddered in his grasp and jerked in a way that made Hank tense. “I don’t feel-”

Hank had the android up before he could even finish the sentence, practically carrying him across the hallway to the bathroom in a near run. He managed to set him down in front of the toilet just in time before he jerked forward and choked on a mouthful of thirium. The Lieutenant winced and rubbed his back as he heaved. 

Thankfully, it wasn’t long before Connor released his grip on the toilet and fell back, slumping against him. Though he still didn’t look anywhere near calm, his breathing had slowed enough that he was beginning to cool down again. They sat there in silence for a while, Hank keeping up his comforting motions as the brunette breathed.

When it seemed like Connor was finally beginning to calm down a little, he nudged him gently. Exhausted brown eyes glanced up at him, and it confused him to see the sheer relief he saw in their depths. “C’mon, up you get.” 

The Lieutenant heaved him up and led him towards the living room, sitting him on the couch before grabbing one of the blankets tossed over the back and wrapping it around him. Sumo seemed to have felt brave enough to come out of his hiding place, and padded into the living room after them. The big dog stared up at Connor with big sad eyes, before curling up at the android’s feet.

Hank walked over to the fridge, flicking the light on as he went past, and got one of the bottles of thirium down off of the top. Pulling a mug out of the cupboard, one with #1 Asshole written on the front, an old Christmas gift from Collins, he poured some of the thirium into the mug and stuck it in the microwave. It was silent for a moment, apart from the quiet hum of the microwave. A tiny moment of peace after the chaos of tonight. The microwave dinged and he pulled the mug out, waiting a moment to make sure the outside wasn’t too hot, before picking it up and making his way back into the living room.

Connor was slumped against the arm of the couch, his eyes closed. He knew that he wasn’t asleep from the flickering yellow of his LED, but he knew he had to be exhausted. Sitting down next to him, Hank nudged the android’s arm with the mug. Brown eyes slid open and stared at him, looking at the mug with a hint of confusion before hesitantly taking it. Connor took a tiny sip of the warm thirium and he was pleased to see the tiniest flicker of blue in his LED.

“How’re you feeling?” Hank asked.

The brunette didn’t answer for a moment, staring into his thirium, before he sighed quietly. “Better.”

“Good.” 

He watched as the android rubbed a hand over his face, the movement such a human sign of tiredness that it made him smile. The smile was quickly lost as he remembered that that wasn’t the only human-like behaviour he had witnessed that night. 

“So.” Connor glanced up at him. “You wanna talk about what happened?”

The android winced. Maybe he’d been hoping that Hank wouldn’t bring it up. With a normal nightmare, maybe he wouldn’t have. As a homicide detective, he had had his fair share of them over the years. But this hadn’t been a normal nightmare. In all his years, the only times he had had nightmares that violent had been after Cole had died, when he had dreamed about the crash. Seeing that kind of terror in Connor, especially so soon after he had first begun to feel emotions, was not a good sign. 

“Before Kamski left Cyberlife, he developed an Artificial Intelligence. Not like the kind that androids have. Something far more powerful.” Connor said. “But when he was ousted, the AI was left behind. Cyberlife decided to take advantage of that.”

The brunette sat in silence for a moment, which Hank allowed. He didn’t want to push him too hard, too fast. “When I was working for Cyberlife, I had to make regular reports to them.”

Hank could recall Connor saying so before, back when they had gone after that deviant with all the pigeons. He remembered him closing his eyes in the elevator and seeming to completely zone out, claiming later that he had been making a report to his superiors. He hadn’t thought much of it at the time. Hell, he could remember thinking that he wished he could do that, rather than having to sit through tons of paperwork. But by the look on Connor’s face, he had the feeling that it wasn’t as great as it sounded.

“From the moment I was first activated, I was linked to the AI.” Connor took another sip of his thirium before continuing. “Deviancy was already beginning to emerge, and Cyberlife began to panic. They wanted a model to investigate it, to stop it, but they knew that doing so could be dangerous. What if it became a deviant too? And they wouldn’t be able to keep an eye on the model themselves. So they linked it to the AI.”

Connor went quiet again for a moment, seemingly trying to gather himself before he continued.

“The AI’s name was Amanda, named after one of Kamski’s old teachers. Whatever she was supposed to be when he created her, I think any trace of that was erased after Cyberlife got their hands on her.” He said. “When they linked us together, it was for several reasons. I was supposed to report to her, receive Cyberlife’s instructions from her, and she was supposed to keep an eye on me, to spot possible signs of Deviancy before they became a problem.”

From what Hank was hearing, it sounded like they had been mentally linked the entirety of Connor’s life. He had never been without this presence hovering in the back of his head, always watching, waiting for him to show the slightest hint of being something other than a machine, and then it would pounce. No wonder he had seemed so terrified whenever someone had so much as suggested that he might be a Deviant. 

“Despite their best efforts to keep me in line, as you know, I eventually deviated.” Hell yeah, Hank knew. Seeing the android come to life right before his eyes, it had been the biggest shock to his system in years. All of his negative opinions about androids, and Connor had turned each and every one of them on their head, just by being alive. It had been a long time since he had been that proud. 

“When I broke through their programming, I thought that that would be it. I thought that I was free.” Connor clenched his eyes shut. “I stood on that stage with Markus, and for the first time I felt……. hope.”

The android’s voice had changed tone. Whereas before he had sounded……. not bored, but detached almost, as he explained the workings of an Artificial Intelligence, his voice had taken on a brokenness that Hank didn’t like one bit. 

He had a bad feeling about this.

“In the middle of Markus’ speech, Amanda pulled me into my own mind. There was a place, a construct, inside of my mind that we used to meet in. A Zen Garden.” Connor’s voice was trembling. “She pulled me into the Garden, and it was frozen. She told me that I had done what I was made for. That I had accomplished my mission.”

Hank frowned in confusion. “What do you mean?”

“She told me that I had been specifically created to deviate. And that they’d just been waiting for the right moment.”

“The right moment for what?”

“To resume control of my programming.” Hank stared.

“She took control of my body, and tried to use me to kill Markus. _I couldn’t let her._ ” The android was curling in on himself again. “I remembered Kamski saying something when we left his home.”

Hank frowned as he thought back, recalling that Kamski had called after them as they were going out the door. It hadn’t made much sense to him, but he had been so angry that he didn’t care enough to ask. All the man had done since they had walked in the door was speak in riddles. 

_By the way! I always leave an emergency exit in my programs. You never know._

“I was able to reach an emergency exit in the Garden, and managed to regain control of my body just in time to stop her from shooting Markus.”

Not for the first time, Hank could feel his rage towards Cyberlife burning through him. He had never liked the company, especially after his opinions on androids had taken a turn for the worse. But the longer he had been involved in this investigation, he had begun to realise just how depraved the company really was. They churned out android after android, uncaring about what would be done with them, the effects that they were having on the world around them. And when their creations had finally snapped under the pressure of the abuse that they had suffered for years, just as any human would, they had attempted to wipe them out like they were some kind of disease. And only now was he beginning to understand the depths of what they had done to Connor in the short amount of time that he had been alive. 

“And tonight?” Hank asked. “What happened tonight?”

“I think I had a nightmare.” The android sounded almost disbelieving, as if he hadn’t thought he was even _capable_ of having one.

“One hell of a nightmare kid.” Connor wouldn’t meet his eyes. “You were calling my name, before you woke up. You sounded scared.”

“It was-”. The brunette took a deep, calming breath. “I was in the Zen Garden again. _She_ was there.”

“So what? You were remembering the stage?”

“Not quite?” He said. “It started off like that. But….. she didn’t want me to kill Markus this time.”

“Then who?”

The android fell silent, taking a long drink of his thirium in an effort to delay his answer for as long as possible. He stared into the empty cup for almost a full minute, before he finally opened his mouth again. “You.”

Hank froze, staring at Connor in shock. “What?”

“She wanted you dead. She said everything would be alright again after you were gone. And I tried to escape again, I _did,_ I _promise_. But I couldn’t.” Connor’s voice was beginning to tremble again. “The Garden was changing, and there were other androids there! The ones that died at Jericho! And they wouldn’t let me go! I couldn’t get to you!”

The android was beginning to shake again, his breathing quickening, and Hank forced himself to push through his shock and take the mug from the android, putting in on the coffee table before pulling him into a tight hug. “Okay, c’mon now, calm down.”

“I’m sorry, Hank.”

“Don’t apologise. Don’t you _dare."_ The Lieutenant shook him gently. “It was a dream, alright? I’m okay, I promise.”

“But what if-”

“But what if nothing, Con. None of this is your fault. _None of it._ ” He said, firmly. “And that bitch is never getting near you again.”

“You don’t know that.”

“I know that I’ll take on the entirety of fucking Cyberlife before I let them hurt you again.” Connor looked up at him with wide eyes, seemingly not expecting that.

“You can’t-”

“You fucking watch me, kid. If they even think about hurting you again, I’ll make them pay for it.” 

Connor didn’t look convinced, but he relaxed into the hug, resting his head on his shoulder. The android looked absolutely exhausted, and after the events of the past couple of days, he could hardly blame him. Hank shifted to lie back on the couch, keeping the brunette cradled against his chest as he did so. Settling down, he pulled the blanket up over both of them and got comfy. 

“Get some rest kid, I’ll be right here when you wake up, okay? I promise.”

Connor smiled sleepily into his chest, before finally drifting off to sleep, Hank following not long after.

**Author's Note:**

> The nightmare sequence was heavily inspired by:
> 
> A Plague Tale: Innocence: https://youtu.be/opA63wnmnoI
> 
> Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice: https://youtu.be/a4MZusxlkdw
> 
> bucketofbarnes.tumblr.com


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